Saturday, January 26, 2013

I am excited to share a fellow CZT's blog.

You may remember that I had created some mandalas for Heal the Love project (you can refer back to that posting 12/31/12). Denyse is the CZT that started the project for all the CZT's to enter. We were not able to send the project to Sandy Hook school. Denyse is in the process of posting all the work on her blog beezen.blogspot.com. Look for the Love Heals event-under construction tab, to view the pieces she received for this event.

Take time to check out her site as she has many really beautiful creations, including the instructions to some patterns she has created & more. There is inspiration to be found there!

I am working on adding other sites (web, blogs) onto my site here for you to be able to find real information, real CZT info, etc. I really want to be sure that you get educated about what real zentangle® is. I hope soon, to learn how to make my site easier to link to these other sites for you. I am a late bloomer in the land of technology.  

I continue to hear more about doodling being substituted, compared inaccurately, even interwoven for zentangle. They are NOT the same. Do not be mislead by all those new titles popping up.  There are so many physical & mental health benefits from zentangle. I have experienced many for myself after taking classes with a CZT. Research is finding these benefits to be true. Researchers continue to investigate & understand just what is happening while being involved with this practice.

 I want to empower you to the fact that even after checking out all the videos, books, web sites, etc. that you will find on zentangle, you will greatly benefit from taking some classes with a real CZT. I started out with a book, then worked up to on-line info. I then sought out a CZT & took classes. It was like magic! The experience was unlike the other options. It was so wonderful, it inspired me to become a CZT. Now I am able to pass on the magic!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Recovering The Artist, A Show About Art Not Illness.

The Martha Pace Swift Gallery showing for the Recovering Artist has ended & I now have my pieces back. The show was a wonderful event & I hope you were able to stop in & check it out. Everyone who participated had such wonderful pieces.

My class, that I do weekly with a special group of students, displayed our group projects. The titled piece I created for the class display, I have donated to the class. 

I had a frame with 4 original tiles that I had on display next to the class project.  Here are the tiles from the framed piece I displayed.  

                        This one below was done on 10/6/11.
                   It includes the pattern I created called Zoid.

                           This one was created on 9/15/11.
                         This also includes my pattern Zoid.
   
                           This one was created on 2/15/12.
 
                           This one was created on 2/15/12.

I just noticed that I tend to be creative on the 15th of the month.

The large piece I had done with the class will now be framed & hung on my wall. I will work on getting the pictures off my camera & post them soon. Again I thank Wes & Judith for their hard work in making this show happen. The Recovering the Artist was presented in partnership with The Expressive Arts Institute, Creative Arts Consortium & Nami. Thank you all, including those that came by to view the show!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

There are misleading blogs about what zentangle® is.

Yesterday I heard about a blog that seemed to misrepresent zentangle. I checked it out & sure enough it does not have correct information. The person does not identify their self on their own site. Turns out his name is Craig. He is using other peoples work & posting it. I do not know if he has permission from them.

He talks about zendoodling & zentangling as if these were interchangeable. They are not. He is not a CZT. He does not understand what true zentangle is. He runs a lot of ads all over his site. This seems to be the purpose of his site. He earns money having these ads posted everywhere. I have posted a comment on his site. I do expect that he has deleted it.

As true CZT's, we do not use zentangle in our site names. I am not posting the name of his site, as I am not recommending anyone to visit. There are many real CZT's that have wonderful sites that are not misleading. I encourage you to check them out. I do want you to be educated so that you re not mislead. You can always check out the zentangle.com site to find people who are qualified CZT's.

To do a zentangle is unlike any experience you would have doing a doodle. They are really very different. There are many health benefits to zentangle, both mental & physical.

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

The web site for Uncovering Pathways does not represent me.

One of my host sites offered to build me a web site for free. I was told that I would be able to review it, make changes & launch it. I was interviewed by phone & the designers went to work. When they had completed the site they notified me to check it out.

After I looked at the site I canceled it. I did not launch it. The words they used were not the words I use. In fact I am offended. The site is misleading. It does not represent the way I speak or my business. 

I have been billed for this account right from the beginning & I am still being charged. They did not honor the free web design as promised.

I recently came across the web site on-line. I called the company & was on hold for over 20 minutes before being transferred around from one person to the next. After almost one hour all I could accomplish was to get a service tech. to cancel my account, or so I was told.

I have received a message that my account has been cancelled. Another message came asking for my feedback. I filled out the short survey.

I checked to see if the web site was gone. No it was not. It is still up as of a few minutes ago. Just the other day this company was advertising on TV that they will build free web sites, & if you like it, then they will charge a nominal fee every month. This site is web.com the same site that I am having challenges with. I do not recommend that anyone take up this offer. If you do not like how they do business, as has been my experience, then do not take them up on their offer. Some people may like what they can accomplish, but if you want to cancel you may find it very challenging.

I intend to keep working on growing this blog. Some day in the future I will create my own web sites. So please, if you have seen the web site, I apologize for this misleading & non -representational site. I will continue to work at having it pulled off the Internet. This blog represents me & what I am accomplishing.

I hope you will continue to follow my blog as it grows & develops. Thank you.

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Introducing my first zentangle pattern named ZOID.

On 1/4/13, I gave a hands on demo about zentangle® at The Expressive Arts Institute San Diego. I heard that we had 46 people that showed up. I started at 5 pm. The tables filled quickly & we had people sitting all around the room. No one realized that such a large group would show up.

People arrived all throughout the demo. This event was not a true class, but a demonstration that everyone could participate in. Zentangle is such a wonderful tool for everyone to use, it was important to introduce it. There are about six CZT's in Southern Ca. that teach classes, including myself. If you find that you would like to experience it in a real zen way, then please contact a CZT for a few classes. You can also look up any CZT's through the zentangle.com web site. We can be found teaching zentangle all around the world. I hope that you will start to practice what I shared with you.

Around 7 pm many people put their pieces on the table so we could all share what we created. Many had left before I was able to get photos of their art. I hope to post pictures later. One woman said that having people continue to come into the event all throughout the demo was nerve racking. She also commented that this did not seem to effect me. Fact is, that did not bother me. For a real class, this is not preferred to have people arriving all through a class. Set up & materials would also be different.

Shortly after 7 pm someone asked if I would teach some more patterns. She said she paid for a sitter & knew we would go to 7:30 pm. I invited everyone still there to take a seat & gave everyone the official tiles & pens to try out. All seven of them zentangled a tile, learning new patterns. I also taught them my own pattern that I have not shared before. I took pictures of these & will post later. They talked about how much nicer their art turned out using the official materials. Rick & Maria picked these materials because they are well suited for doing zentangle. They did the research to find the best suited materials. It really does make a difference!

I would like to thank The Expressive Arts Institute; Judith Greer Essex PhD., REAT & Wes Chester MA, CAGS for inviting me to do this demo & hosting the event! They did a great job! I would like to thank everyone who attended for participating in this event. I hope that you came away with a new tool for better wellness & had fun! I had so much fun, I left with an abundance of positive energy! 

I offer three zentangle classes. First class is the basic class. Second class is the intermediate class where you get more into shading. Third class is the advanced class. We also look at other mediums & using color to create Zia pieces. Other classes are offered doing special projects. All classes you will learn new patterns that are not published, You will also learn more about zentangle & understand the zen in zentangle. Classes are three hours per class. Class length can be modified to suit you or your groups. I will teach where ever you chose. More information on classes given when you contact me at (619) 409-4997.

I now introduce the pattern I created & named Zoid. I created this pattern before I became a CZT. I had really gotten into the practice of doing zentangle. Zoid is very useful as a filler pattern but also can stand alone. It follows the true concept of a zentangle pattern. It involves making slightly curved lines. If you think about the shape of an almond shaped eye, then you have it. 

                    Here is the step out on how to create Zoid.





There are so many variations you can do to Zoid. This one just below stands out more on it's own. I did this one on 9/27/11 before I became a CZT.





This one below I did on 9/29/11



                                     This one below I did in Sept. 2011. 


I use Zoid often when I zentangle. I love it & create variations to suit me. It is one of the easiest patterns to use. I have also used the basic outside form & filled it with dots instead of curved lines. Enjoy!

              Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways.